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Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Swedish pronunciation: ɪbraˈhiːmɔvɪtʂ, Bosnian pronunciation: ibraˈxiːmɔʋitɕ; born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Swedish national team for which he is captain. Ibrahimović started his career at Malmö FF in the late 1990s under Roland Andersson. He was signed by Ajax, and made a name for himself under Ronald Koeman. He later signed with Juventus for €16 million. Ibrahimović gained fame in Serie A, benefiting from his strike partnership with David Trezeguet. In 2006, he signed with league rival Internazionale, where he won individual awards such as the Italian Oscar del Calcio and the Swedish Guldbollen, and was named in the 2007 and 2009 UEFA Team of the Year, in addition to finishing as the league's highest scorer in 2008–09 while winning three straight Scudetti. In the summer of 2009, he transferred to Barcelona for €69 million, the second highest transfer fee in football history. His time at Barcelona was short lived, however, moving back to Serie A football with Milan the following season, in a deal which made him one of the highest paid footballers in the world2 and cost the Italian club €24 million. In 2012, he was ranked 5th in The Guardian's 100 Best Footballers in the world.3 Early life Ibrahimović was born in Sweden to a Bosnian father who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, Šefik Ibrahimović, and a Croatian mother, Jurka Gravić,4 who also emigrated to Sweden, where they first met. His father was born in Bijeljina, SFR Yugoslavia, and his mother was born in Prkos, Zadar County, SFR Yugoslavia.5 Ibrahimovic was born to a Muslim father and a Catholic mother. Ibrahimović grew up in Rosengård, a Malmö neighbourhood known for its immigrant communities, along with his three sisters and two brothers. After receiving a pair of football boots, Ibrahimović began playing football at the age of six, alternating between local junior clubs Malmö BI and FBK Balkan.67 He has stated in an interview that while his team was down 4–0 during halftime, he came on as a substitute for his Balkan youth team and dramatically scored eight goals. While in his early teens, he was a regular for his hometown club Malmö FF.7 At the age of 15, Ibrahimović was close to quitting his football career, in favour of working at the docks in Malmö, but his manager convinced him to continue playing.8 Ibrahimović successfully completed junior high school in the ninth grade. Though he was admitted to Borgarskolan and had above average grades, he soon dropped out of high school to focus on his football career. Club career Malmö FF Ibrahimović signed his first contract with Malmö in 1996, and moved up to the senior side for the 1999 season of Allsvenskan, Sweden's top-flight league. That season, Malmö finished 13th in the league and were relegated to the second division, but returned to the top flight the next season. Arsène Wenger unsuccessfully tried to persuade Ibrahimović to join Arsenal, while Leo Beenhakker also expressed interest in the player after watching him in a training match against Norwegian side Moss FK.9 On 22 March 2001, a deal between Ajax and Malmö regarding Ibrahimović's transfer to Amsterdam was announced, and in July, Ibrahimović officially joined Ajax for 80 million Swedish kronor.10 Ajax Ibrahimović received little playing time under manager Co Adriaanse, but when Adriaanse was sacked on 29 November 2001, new coach Ronald Koeman inserted Ibrahimović into the starting lineup as Ajax won the 2001–02 Eredivisie title. The next season, Ibrahimović scored twice in a 2–1 victory over French champions Lyon in his Champions League debut on 17 September 2002. He scored four Champions League goals overall as Ajax fell to Milan in the quarter-finals. In his final season with Ajax, Ibrahimović's profile rose when he scored a breathtaking goal against NAC on 22 August 2004, a goal that was eventually voted the "Goal of the Year" by Eurosport viewers.11 He netted only once in the 2003–04 Champions League (against Celta Vigo on 22 October) as Ajax were eliminated in the group stage. On 18 August 2004, Ibrahimović injured fellow Ajax teammate Rafael van der Vaart during an international match against the Netherlands, which led to accusations from van der Vaart that Ibrahimović had hurt him intentionally. This led to Ibrahimović's sudden sale to Juventus on 31 August.12 In May 2012, van der Vaart reignited the bitter feud between both players when he was filmed practicing his golf swing on a picture of Ibrahimović's face.13 Juventus Ibrahimović moved from Ajax to Juventus for €16 million.14 He was promptly inserted into the starting eleven due in part to top scorer David Trezeguet's injury problems, and scored sixteen goals. Near the end of the season, Juventus reportedly rejected a €70 million bid for him from Real Madrid, which was later revealed to be a publicity stunt initiated by Ibrahimović's agent, Mino Raiola, in order to increase his market value.11 On 14 November 2005, he was awarded the Guldbollen, a prize awarded to the best Swedish footballer of the year.15 The following season was poor compared to his first season; his role in Juventus' attack changed, as he became less of a goalscorer and moved more to the sidelines, taking much part in the build-up play, especially as a target player, and his assist numbers increased. In the 2005–06 season, Juventus fans often got frustrated with him due to his anonymous presence in certain important games such as the Champions League defeat to Arsenal. Juventus were stripped of their last two Scudetti as part of the verdict from the Calciopoli scandal, and were relegated to Serie B. The new staff tried to persuade Ibrahimović and other top players to stay with Juventus, but the player and his agent were adamant to move on, with Raiola threatening legal action in order to extricate Ibrahimović from his contract.16 Internazionale On 10 August 2006, Ibrahimović completed a €24.8 million move to Internazionale, signing a four-year-deal,17 this coming only a few days after 30-year-old defensive midfielder Patrick Vieira had completed his own transfer from Juve to nerazzurri.18 Ibrahimović revealed that he had supported Inter when he was young.19 Playing under head coach Roberto Mancini, Ibrahimović started his spell at the club by scoring one goal and assisting another in a league match against Fiorentina and ended his first season as Inter's top goalscorer with 15 goals. Inter won the league for the first time in 17 years. They finished the Serie A season with 97 points, a league record, a feat Ibrahimović would go on to repeat at FC Barcelona. During the season Inter also broke the European Big Five League Record for most consecutive wins, 17. The record still stands. Ibrahimović played his 100th Serie A match on 16 September 2007. His contract was renewed in 2007, it was due to expire in June 2013.20 He was estimated as the top of footballer wages.21 He scored two Champions League goals in the group stage against PSV on 2 October, which marked his first European goals since December 2005 and his first goals overall in an Inter jersey, and finished with five goals in seven Champions League matches. Against Parma in the final league matchday on 18 May 2008, he returned from a chronic knee injury and scored both goals as Inter won 2–0, clinching their third straight Scudetto. On 16 November 2008, Ibrahimović said that he would not return to the Allsvenskan as an active player, but he would stay the rest of his active career as a player abroad.22 Ibrahimović's 2008–09 season started brilliantly, hitting the back of the net in Inter's first league match. His goal against Bologna was voted "Goal of the Year". He scored it with his heel without moving and accurately into the net from a cross by Adriano.23 Ibrahimović's form in the season had been eye-catching, with clever movement on and off the ball, and his passing had been outstanding, such as his acrobatic pass against Lazio. He ended a month long goal drought against Genoa, handing them their first home loss of the season, making Inter the only team not to lose at home in the league. In the final league game of the season, Ibrahimović scored twice against Atalanta, securing the Capocannoniere for himself by finishing one goal ahead of Marco Di Vaio and Diego Milito with 25 goals in the domestic season. Barcelona After Maxwell completed his transfer to Barcelona, president Joan Laporta confirmed that there was an agreement in principle between Barcelona and Internazionale for Ibrahimović to join the club in exchange for Samuel Eto'o, plus a fee.24 Laporta revealed that the negotiations started when he decided to divert a flight, which was originally from Ukraine to Spain, in order to have talks with Massimo Moratti, the president of Internazionale, in Milan.25 Ibrahimović left Internazionale during their United States summer tour in the World Football Challenge on 23 July 2009 for negotiations with Barcelona, with his last match for Internazionale being against Chelsea.26 After Internazionale agreed terms with Eto'o27 and Barcelona with Ibrahimović,28 Barcelona announced Ibrahimović would arrive on 26 July 2009 and undergo a medical test on 27 July 2009.29 Ibrahimović passed his medical and was presented to a crowd of over 60,000 at Camp Nou.30 He signed a 5-year contract,31 for €46 million31 and the exchange of Eto'o (valued at €20 million) and loan of Alexander Hleb (with an option to buy for a €10 million fee),31 with a €250 million release clause,31 making Ibrahimović worth €66 million. However, Hleb deal collapsed. Eventually Ibrahimović cost Barcelona €69.884 million which including other fees.32 Inter book the fee was €69.5 million,3334 but part of the Inter fee (about 4.5%) was redistributed to youth clubs as solidarity contribution (except Juventus.35) Ibrahimović started the 2009–10 season with his competitive debut for Barcelona on 23 August 2009 by assisting on a goal by Lionel Messi, leading them to the Spanish Super Cup. In his next competitive match, Barcelona won the 2009 UEFA Super Cup.36 In his third appearance, he scored his first goal in Barcelona's La Liga season opener against Sporting Gijón in a 3–0 win. Ibrahimović went on to score in his next three appearances, thus setting a team record as the only player ever to score in his first four league matches.37 On 20 October, he scored his first Champions League goal for Barcelona in a group stage match against Rubin Kazan. Five days later, he scored twice in a 6–1 thrashing of Real Zaragoza, giving him a league-leading seven goals in seven league matches while bringing Barcelona to the top of the table.38 However, on 7 November, Ibrahimović suffered a thigh injury that kept him out for three weeks. He returned to action in week 12 of the season against Real Madrid as a second-half substitute for Thierry Henry, and scored his eighth goal of the campaign.39 He finished with eleven goals and four assists in all but two of Barcelona's first fifteen league matches. Barcelona capped off 2009 by winning the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup against Estudiantes on 19 December 2009. Ibrahimović scored Barcelona's only goal in the 2009–10 Copa del Rey first leg match of the round of sixteen in a 2–1 loss to Sevilla on 5 January 2010. On 20 January, he was selected in the 2009 UEFA Team of the Year.40 His first goal of 2010 came on 14 February against Atlético Madrid. In his next appearance, Ibrahimović scored against Stuttgart in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League knockout stage fixture. He was sent off on 6 March in a league match against Almería, which Barcelona appealed to no avail, and he was suspended for one game.41 A calf strain during warmups before the next La Liga match following his return from suspension against Athletic Bilbao ruled Ibrahimović out of the second leg 4–1 victory over Arsenal, in which he scored two goals away from home, the return leg of the El Clásico against Madrid (which Barcelona won 2–0),42 and the next league match against Deportivo La Coruña. He made his return as a substitute in the 82nd minute in against Espanyol. Ibrahimović finished the season with a sixth-best 16 league goals, as Barcelona won La Liga with 99 points in 38 matches. He scored his final goal for Barcelona in a Spanish Super Cup match on 14 August in a 3–1 defeat over Sevilla, and on 25 August, he played his last match for the club against Milan for the Joan Gamper Trophy, after which he claimed to the media that his relationship with coach Pep Guardiola had started deteriorating and that Guardiola had not spoken to him since March.43 Milan On 28 August 2010, Milan announced on their official website that they had acquired the services of Ibrahimović for the 2010–11 season. He was loaned out to Milan for the 2010–11 season, with Milan having the option to purchase him outright from Barcelona for €24 million at the end of the season.4445 He made his team debut in a 2–0 loss to Cesena on 11 September, in which he missed a penalty late in the match,46 and scored his first goals for the club when Milan defeated Auxerre in their first Champions League match of the season on 15 September. On 14 November, Ibrahimović scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory against his former club Internazionale in the Milan Derby. On 20 November, he scored his seventh goal against Fiorentina in the 45th minute with an over-the-head bicycle kick, passing Alexandre Pato as the team's top goal scorer for the season. On 4 December 2010, in a game against Brescia, he assisted Kevin Prince-Boateng to give Milan an early lead and then scored the third goal by a powerful shot near the edge of the penalty box to give Milan a 3–0 win. On 12 December 2010, history repeated himself in the game against Bologna after he assisted Boateng to give Milan an early lead once again and scoring later that match to make it 3–0, leading him to 13 goals with 8 assists in 21 matches in all competitions, after which he has been compared to Milan legend Marco van Basten by both the media and van Basten himself.47 Ibrahimović received a three-match ban, after getting a red card in a 1–1 home draw against Bari in March 2011 for punching Bari defender Marco Rossi in the stomach.48 An additional three-match ban was given to Ibrahimović in February 2012, in a 1–2 home defeat against Fiorentina, for supposedly swearing at an assistant referee. Ibrahimović stated in his defense that he was talking to himself in frustration.49 He won his first Scudetto with Milan after a stalemate against Roma. He is therefore currently on a streak of eight straight league wins in three different countries and with five different clubs, including the later stripped wins with Juventus. All agreements between Milan and Barcelona were confirmed on 18 June 2011.50 In the first official match of the 2011–12 season, Ibrahimović opened it in the best possible way scoring the first goal of a Milan comeback to beat city rivals Internazionale in the Italian Super Cup. He also scored Milan's first goal of their 2011–12 Serie A season in a 2–2 draw against Lazio. He scored his third goal in the first three games in Milan's Champions League game against Czech club Viktoria Plzeň from the penalty spot and assisted the second goal. Ibrahimović justified his tag of the carrier of Milan by scoring in many games, yet still providing many assists. He scored in the next UEFA Champions League game against BATE Borisov, a goal in Milan's 4–1 win over Parma and two more in their 2–3 win over Roma, ending a successful month of October. November was equally impressive for the Swede, scoring in consecutive games against BATE, in the Champions League, and Catania, in the league. In the highly anticipated encounter between Milan and Barcelona, Ibrahimović scored against his old club to equalise the game at 1–1 but eventually Barça ran away 3–2 winner at the San Siro. He ended November with a brace against Chievo, his first goal took his tally of goals in Serie A to 100 goals, and the second from the penalty spot. Ibrahimović continued his impressive form in December, and scored a goal in each of five Serie A games. 2012 started on high note for Ibrahimović, as he scored against Atalanta converting a penalty kick. He was the top goalscorer of Serie A, with 14 goals in 16 appearance, after the brace against Novara, of which second goal, came after cheeky backheel. On 5 January 2012 in a match against Napoli on continuation of Serie A, Ibra awarded a red card for slapping Salvatore Aronica in an off-the-ball incident and will rule out of Milan's next three games.51 On 15 February, in the 2011–12 Champions League season, Ibrahimović set up all two Robinho's goals and also scored by a spot kick, thus helping Milan win 4–0 over Arsenal.52 He continued his goalscoring run in March 2012, with a hat-trick in a 4–0 away win against Palermo at the Stadio Renzo Barbera. The first two goals were assisted by Robinho and the third by Emanuelson. In the next three games, he scored four goals, two against Roma, which took his tally to 22 goals in 23 games. With two goals against Siena, Ibrahimović surpassed his previous domestic goal record of 25 goals. He finished the season with 28 goals in 32 matches. Paris Saint-Germain On 17 July 2012, Paris Saint-Germain confirmed that they had reached an agreement to acquire the sporting and economic rights of Ibrahimović from Milan, having already agreed personal terms with the striker, for an initial transfer fee of around €20 million, making Ibrahimović the most expensive footballer in combined transfer fees. Valued at €180 million, it eclipsed those commanded by Nicolas Anelka. His three-year contract would see him receive a net annual salary of €14 million including bonuses (which would be €2 million more than what he was earning per year just before he left Milan), and make him the second best paid footballer in the world behind Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o.535455 The following day, Ibrahimović signed the contract56 and made the following statement during the press conference: "It is a big step in my career and another dream come true. I am very happy because it is a project that I want to be involved in. I want to be part of the history of the club. I am here to win and nothing else."57 Ibrahimović scored twice in the second half for PSG to help them rally from 2–0 down at half-time to salvage a 2–2 home draw with Lorient in their opening 2012–13 Ligue 1 match.58 He scored two goals in the first half to help PSG to a 2–1 win over Lille which was PSG's first Ligue 1 win after three successive draws in the first three league matches of the 2012–13 season.59 In the opening 2012–13 UEFA Champions League Group A match against Dynamo Kyiv on 18 September 2012, Ibrahimović scored his sixth goal in only his fifth appearance for Carlo Ancelotti's side through a penalty. He thus became the first man to score for six clubs in the UEFA Champions League.60 On 8 October 2012, Ibrahimović became only the third player (after Ronaldinho and Laurent Blanc) to have played in the El Clásico in Spain, the Milan derby in Italy and the Le Classique, the derby between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain. He scored both of PSG's goals (the first goal was from a backheel and the second was from a free kick) in the Ligue 1 Le Classique derby at the Stade Vélodrome on that day, with the match finishing 2–2.61 On 11 December 2012, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 away win against Valenciennes.62 In January, Ibrahimović was handed the number 10 jersey after the departure of Brazilian winger Nené. ''International career'' Even though Ibrahimović was eligible to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, he chose to play for Sweden, his country of birth.63 Ibrahimović made his debut in a 0–0 friendly draw against the Faroe Islands at Tipshallen on 31 January 2001 during the 2000–01 Nordic Football Championship.6465 On 7 October 2001, he made first competitive match in a 2002 World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan, scoring a goal in a 3–0 win. Ibrahimović was part of Sweden's 2002 FIFA World Cup finals squad who were eliminated in the round of 16 by newcomers Senegal.66 He made two substitute appearances, in the 88th minute of the final group game against Argentina and the 76th minute of the match against Senegal. Ibrahimović was in the starting lineup for all of Sweden's Euro 2004 matches. He scored a penalty in a 5–0 win against Bulgaria and rounded off a fine performance against Italy by scoring a late equaliser chip with his back heel, which was voted the goal of the tournament. However, he missed a penalty as Sweden were sent home following a shootout loss to the Netherlands. During 2006 World Cup qualification, Ibrahimović scored four goals in a 7–0 victory away to Malta on 4 September 2004. He did not score during the 2006 World Cup finals as Sweden were knocked out in the round of 16, this time by Germany.67 He was called up for a Euro 2008 qualifier against Liechtenstein on 6 September 2006, but two days before the match, he violated team curfew by leaving the hotel with teammates Christian Wilhelmsson and Olof Mellberg and visiting a nightclub. Though none of the players consumed any alcohol, they were nonetheless all sent home by manager Lars Lagerbäck as punishment and did not take part in the match. Mellberg and Wilhelmsson did not appeal the coach's decision, but Ibrahimović felt that it was unjust and therefore refused to take part in Sweden's next qualifiers against Iceland and Spain. He also refused to partake in a friendly against Egypt on 7 February 2007, but ended his self-imposed boycott a month later,68 and returned for Sweden's loss to Northern Ireland on 28 March. He did not score in any of the 12 qualifying matches. Ibrahimović was awarded the 2007 Swedish Golden Ball as the "Country's Top Player of the Year."69 Ibrahimović ended his international goal drought, which had lasted for over two years, against Greece in Sweden's Euro 2008 opener on 10 June 2008, and the next match against Spain four days later.7071 He finished the tournament with two goals as Sweden were eliminated in the group stage by Russia.72 Ibrahimović scored a goal in a 4–0 win against Malta on 10 June 2009 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier.73 On 5 September 2009, he scored a last second goal in Stadium Puskás Ferenc against Hungary in a 2–1 win for Sweden in their qualification match.74 Style of play Ibrahimović has been described as being "good in the air, strong and agile, he plays well with his back to goal and boasts some of the best finishing, vision, passing and ball control around." Once criticised for "his work-rate in the big matches", Ibrahimović silenced his critics by scoring and dominating in some of the biggest matches in football including the Milan Derby, the El Clásico and in ties from the Champions League and UEFA Euro against some of the strongest opponents in football.8081828384 Ibrahimović is the only player to have scored for six different clubs in the Champions League.85 Personal life Ibrahimović has two siblings and three half-siblings. His longtime partner is Helena Seger with whom he has two children, Maximilian (born 22 September 2006), and Vincent (born 6 March 2008). He currently resides in Paris, although he visits his summer home in Malmö annually. Ibrahimović received an honorary black belt in taekwondo; he attended classes at the Malmö Taekwondo club Enighet (English: Unity) as a child.86 Ibrahimović is fluent in Swedish, Bosnian, English, Spanish and Italian.needed4 Ibrahimović has stated that he is a Catholic Christian.878889 The name Zlatan was trademarked in May 2003 at the Swedish Patent and Registration Office for "most likely being perceived as Zlatan Ibrahimović", which meant that he received exclusive rights to the name for certain products, including sporting goods, clothing, and shoes.90 He is under contract with Nike and features in their television advertising. He wears the Nike Mercurial boot line and has the names and dates of birth of his sons embedded onto the external sides of his boots. In the fall of 2007, Ibrahimović, with the help of Nike, self-funded Zlatan Court in the streets of the city district Rosengård in his hometown Malmö: he provided a playing mat, goalposts, lighting, and a modern fence.91 In 2008, he donated new Nike kits to his youth club, FBK Balkan.92 In December 2012, a French DJ, Al Pach, made a song tribute to Ibrahimović called "My Name is Zlatan".93